The field of this invention relates to force applying apparatuses and more particularly to a force applying apparatus which is to quickly and efficiently remove a member which is attached onto a shaft and has become tightly secured to the shaft after a period of time.
Electric motors are very commonly used for rotating different types of members. Examples of such members would be a squirrel cage fan and a propeller type of fan blade. Such members are tightly mounted on the shaft and then secured in place by some type of fastening means, such as a threaded nut. It may be several months or years later when it is necessary to perform repair work on either the motor or the member and it becomes necessary to separate the member from the motor shaft. The threaded nut will be removed, but it is normally very difficult to remove the member because it has become welded by corrosion and dirt to the shaft.
The normal method for removing such a member is by merely hammering directly on the hub of the member until finally the member is separated from the shaft. However, such hammering inherently produces undesirable forces which are transmitted through the shaft and are imparted to bearings which support the shaft. As a result, these bearings usually become damaged and could be possibly damaged to the point where they need to be replaced. There is a need for a force applying apparatus which is to impart to the member an evenly distributed force along the longitudinal axis of the shaft which tends to separate the member from the shaft.
Such force applying apparatuses have been previously known and are frequently termed "wheel pullers". Previous "wheel pullers" normally connect directly to the rotatable member from the front side of the member and apply force to the end of the shaft. However, in some installations, it is almost impossible to obtain access to the end of the shaft. In such an installation, it would be most desirable to locate such a "wheel puller" on the opposite side of the member, such as on the housing of the motor. Previous to this invention, there was no known "wheel puller" that connected to the motor housing.